In France, under article 89 of the Constitution, a revision requires a vote of each house of Parliament, followed by a three-fifth vote of the Congress, which is a session of both houses together. After France‘s conservatives allied with left-wing rebels in the French Senate to vote down the measure, Hollande concluded he didn‘t have the votes and canceled his planned constitutional amendment, blaming partisanship.

To say that this is a political humiliation is an understatement.